Fluyt

The fluyt was a Dutch cargo carrier developed at Hoorn in the late sixteenth century and dominant through the seventeenth, designed expressly to maximize hold space and minimize crew and cost. Its pear-shaped cross-section, simple rig, and lightly built hull let a small crew work a large bulk carrier, and a narrow deck exploited Danish Sound toll rules based on deck width. The fluyt underpinned Dutch dominance of the Baltic grain and timber trade and the broader carrying trade of the Golden Age.